Governor Patterson signed into law the new New York State Center for Rural Schools on Friday September 26, 2008. This Center, to be housed at Cornell University, will 1) facilitate communication, information, and expertise, 2) bolster research capacity on a variety of issues facing rural communities and their schools, and 3) conduct and motivate research to assist rural schools and their communities and New York State. Building on the expertise and networks of the NYS Rural Education Advisory Committee and the Rural Schools Association of NYS, the center will assist Cornell to carry out its Land Grant Mission by informing and studying educational issues of importance in rural communities. 

Professor Scott Peters has been named as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, which is published quarterly by the University of Georgia's Institute of Higher Education. He will be editing the "Practice Stories from the Field" section of the journal. Click here for more information about the journal, including submission guidelines.

Professor Scott Peters has signed a contract from Michigan State University press to publish his next book, Critic and Leader as Well as Servant: Higher Education's Roles in the Public Work of Democracy." Co-authored by Theodore Alter from Penn State University, the book will contribute to an emerging debate about the nature, meaning, value, and significance of American higher education's public purposes and work. The book is scheduled to be published in early 2010.

Professor Scott Peters will be giving the opening keynote lecture in "Sustaining the Earth: Public Scholarship in the Arts and Humanities", a semester-long symposium sponsored by Iowa State University's Center for Excellence in the Arts and Humanities. His lecture titled, Cultivating and Sustaining Democratic Publics: Civic Professionalism and the Pursuit of Sustainability in the Arts and Humanities." Click here for additional information about the series.

LEAD New York Class 12 will be traveling to Spain for their study trip in February 2009. LEAD New York is a two-year program of seminars, workshops and field travel designed for committed individuals who wish to step-up and make a difference in New York State's food and agriculture industry. LEAD New York alumni include growers, lenders, shippers, retailers, educators, marketers, consultants, and others. The program helps participants improve their skills in communication, leadership, issue analysis, and networking.

2008 Department of Education Award Recipients:

Teachers of Agriculture Fund Award: 
Andrea Kavleski and Erica Seelman

Outstanding Teaching Assistant: 
Jessica Matthews-Duval

Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship:
Rosalie Metro and Alison Remillard

Provost's Diversity Fellowship: 
Mariana Cruz

IREX Individual Advanced Research Opportunity: 
Meg Gardinier

Novak-Golton Awards: 
Julie Burns, Robert Humphrey, Xenia Meyer, and Maya Patel

Robert Noyce Scholarship:
Denise McKenna

Edward E. Sheldon Award for Women Teachers:  
Andrea Kavleski and Kristen Keryk

Laurence E. Palmer Award:  
Daniel Capps

Julian E. Butterworth Doctorcal Research Award: 
Robert Humphrey

Marvin and Ruth Glock Research Award: 
Kimberly Niewolny

Are New Yorkers Satisfied with the Public Education in their Communities? John Sipple and Robin Blakely present their findings in the January 2008 issue of The Rural New York Minute published by the Community and Rural Development Institute (CaRDI).

Professor John Sipple, Lisa McCabe, and Judith Ross-Berstein co-authored The Capacity of Early Childhood Care & Education in Rural New York State. featured in the January 2008 edition of Research & Policy Brief Series published by the Community and Rural Development Institute (CaRDI).

Barbara Crawford and doctoral students Robert Humphrey and Xenia Meyer are designing innovative curricula to help diverse students learn about evolution and science inquiry by using authentic fossil samples. The Spring 2007 edition of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences News features an article about their work titled, Informed Citizens: Improving Science Literacy by Teaching through Inquiry.

Deborah Trumbull and Travis Park are both featured in the Spring 2007 edition of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences News. Read Preparation for the Classroom: Cornell Teacher Education Program and More than Farming: New Directions for Agricultural Education here.

Jennifer Rivera, a January 2007 PhD graduate of the department's Learning, Teaching, and Social Policy Program, has been chosen to receive the Omicron Tau Theta Outstanding Dissertation Award. Rivera will receive the award and summarize her dissertation, titled “Test Item Construction and Validation: Developing a Statewide Assessment for Agricultural Science Education,” at the annual OTT Conference in Las Vegas this December. Omicron Tau Theta is the international honor society for career and technical education.

Rosemary Caffarella and co-authors Sharan Merriam and Lisa Baumgartner are the winners of a 2007 Cyril O. Houle World Award for Literature in Adult Education for their book, Learning in Adulthood: A Comprehensive Guide (Third Edition; San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2006). The Houle Award is given annually by the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE) for a book published in English in the previous year that reflects universal concerns of adult educators, is relevant to adult educators in more than one country, and exemplifies outstanding literature in adult education. This is Caffarella's second Houle Award.

Deborah Trumbull and the Department of Physics' Rob Thorne have spearheaded successful efforts to obtain funding from the PhysTEC consortium. The project goal is to increase the number of highly qualified teachers of physics. The specific project goals are: to establish a network of institutions deeply engaged in the enterprise; produce more, better-prepared elementary, middle, and high school teachers committed to interactive inquiry-based approaches to teaching; provide compelling evidence of the importance and success of essential ideas and components; engage physics and education faculty in collaborating together with and developing essential program elements; and to promote and disseminate innovative programs, methods, and ideas. This joint effort at improving teacher preparation is facilitated by three of the most prominent national physics societies, the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT), American Institute of Physics (AIP), and American Physical Society (APS).

PhD student Hope Casto and Professor John Sipple co-authored School-Based Health Centers in NYS featured in the July 2007 edition of Research & Policy Brief Series published by the Community and Rural Development Institute (CaRDI).

View the CALS Career Development Office newsletter, Career Opportunities & Information. This weekly newsletter features information on internship and full-time job opportunities, fellowships and scholarships, on-campus recruiting, employer presentations, upcoming and special events and workshops.